NewVoices Choir Honored with National Award
Ensemble wins Education & Community Engagement Award
(APPLETON, WIS.) April 14, 2016 – NewVoices is the winner of the education and community engagement award presented annually by Chorus America. This award recognizes programs that expand a chorus’ role in its community through mission-based programming, music education, artistic excellence and meaningful collaborations. This is the first time in the ensemble’s history that it has earned a national award from Chorus America, the leading trade association for adult and children’s choirs.The award was based on collaborative programming for the 2015-16 season, which included:
Raising awareness and education about human sex trafficking through public forums, informational materials for music educators, a community book read, pre-concert discussion and a fall concert entitled “Facing the Music (the unfamiliar truth about Human Trafficking: awareness, education, and hope).” This project was presented in partnership with the Outagamie County Sexual Assault Crisis Center and the Sex Trafficking Steering Committee
Addressing the needs of those with dementia and Alzheimer’s in our community through a series of events in conjunction with the Fox Valley Memory Project. The collaboration includes a free concert for residents of memory care facilities and their caregivers, a pre-concert discussion on how music and singing affect those with dementia, and a concert for care partners and the general public to learn more about dementia care entitled “Wanting Memories: unlocking dementia through music.” In addition, choir members are volunteering to provide music for the Fox Valley’s seven Memory Cafes.
The award was also judged on effective management and fiscal integrity of programming. Independent panels selected award winners from among Chorus America’s thousands of members. The award includes a $2500 honorarium and will be presented at the organization’s annual conference in June of 2016.“NewVoices is strongly committed to collaboration, not only with other arts organizations but with all sorts of mission-driven partners,” said Board President Jenna Stone. “We love to make music that matters—music that stirs the soul, but that also raises up issues and themes that our community cares about. It is wonderful to have our approach affirmed by this prestigious national award.”The programming was a result of creative direction by the choir’s Artistic Director Phillip Swan. Under Swan’s leadership the organization has sought out more meaningful collaborations with regional non-profits.“These are difficult issues to tackle in community choir programming, but choral music brings an exciting dimension to framing difficult discussions,” Swan said. “This was a an adventurous move in programming and I especially thank the singers and board of directors for trusting in this project.”According to Stone, the choir’s board of directors and singers committed the organization to create a sense of community by sharing vocal music. Programming for this season was created to present vocal music as a unifying element to raise awareness of relevant topics and jumpstart a community discussion on often difficult issues.# # #